Sheath knife scabbard



June 21, 1966 R. w. SMITH 3,257,050

SHEATH KNIFE SCABBARD Filed March 5, 1964 27 I9 6 fail/22 F IN VENTOR.ROBERT 14 5M/ TH United States Patent Office 3 ,Z57,050 Patented June21, 1966 3,257,050 SHEATH KNIFE SCABBARD- Robert W. Smith, Box 52,Hayden, Colo. Filed Mar. 3', 1964, Ser. No. 349,541 1 Claim. (Cl. 224-2)The invention relates to a scabbard which may be manufactured for anytype or size of hunting or camping sheath knife, such as a prong, snap,or hole. It has the advantage over prior knife sheaths of simplicity ofstructure since it is constructed of only three component parts: A mainbody, a belt-loop attachment, and a safety top.

The primary object of the invention is to prevent the loss or injury bya sheath knife when it is worn suspended from a belt.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide ascabbard for carrying a knife which is convenient to wear-and readilyaccessible. 7

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference to the accompanying drawingforming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown andwhere- FIGURE 1 is a rear elevation of a knife scabbard constructed inaccordance with the present invention in a partially completedcondition,

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of a knife scabbard constructed inaccordance with the present invention in a partially completedcondition, and

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of a knife scabbard con structed inaccordance with the present invention illustrating a knife with itsblade inserted in and retainably secured therein.

The drawing illustrates a scabbard constructed of a safety top A made ofsoft oil-tanned cowhide, a belt-loop attachment B made of firmoil-tanned cowhide, and a body C made of firm oil-tanned or bark-tannedcowhide.

The safety top A is attached to an upper portion of the body C of thescabbard. The safety top A is adapted to snap quickly and easily overthe top of a knife carried in the scabbard to secure the knife in thescabbard. In order to remove the knife from the scabbard it is necessaryto forcibly pull a tab portion 6 of the top upwardly. Since the tabportion 6 extends downwardly below the top 7 of the knife, accidentalrelease of the knife is practically impossible.

The safety top A is construe-ted from a flat rectangular soft oil-tannedleather member having side integral tabs 8 and 9 and two end integraltabs 10 and 6. Each tab extends outwardly from the leather member. 10 isattached to the top of the scabbard by rivets 12 or by sewing. If rivetsare used they should be solid rather than split or tubular. Tubular andsplit rivets tend to tear the leather. The top A is folded forwardly andthe tabs 8 and 9 are attached to the sides adjacent the top of thescabbard by rivets 13 or by sewing. The tab 6 is left free to provide agripping portion. When the tab 6 is raised an upward force is exerted onthe top A raising same slightly so that a knife can be inserted into andremoved from the scabbard.

It is noted that the tab 10 of the safety top is joined to the top ofthe scabbard one-half inch below the normal position of the top 7 of aknife handle 15 when such is The tabv placed in the scabbard. The top Aforms a flexible pocket which snaps over the knife top and it can beeasily Inanipulated by tab 6.

A belt-loop attachment B, made from a separate rectangular piece ofleather as illustrated in FIGURE 1, is attached to the rear of the bodyC of the scabbard by rivets 16 about midway between the top and bottomof the scabbard. Two parallel slits 17 and 18 are cut lengthwiseone-half inch from the end 19 and one inch from the end 20. The top endof the slits 17 and 18 are terminated by round punched holes 21 and 22not closer than one-half inch from the end 19. The belt-loop attachmentis joined to the back of the scabbard just below the open top of thesheath as illustrated in FIGURE 1. The beltloop attachment B holds thescabbard securely to the belt of the wearer, yet it permits the scabbardto swing free from the belt.- It prevents the discomfort andinconvenience which results from the rigidity of a scabbard throughwhich the belt is threaded directly.

The body C of the scabbard includes a sheath 23 which is formed byfolding a piece of leather about dotted line 24 to define a pocket forreceiving a knife blade 25 Stitching 26, such as nylon or linen thread,is used to secure the folded pieces of leather together. If it isdesired, the folded pieces of leather may be laced with buckskin.

The length of the topv portion of the scabbard between its upper edge 7and the open top of the sheath 23 must not vary more than one-fourthinch from the length of the handle between the hilt 28 and the top 29.The length of the sheath 23 must not vary more than one-fourth inch fromthe length of the blade 25. 7

It is essential that anyvariations from materials and method ofconstruction hereinbefore described be minor and not in anyway violatethe principles of the invention as set forth in the claim which follows.

What is claimed is:

A sheath for a knife having a blade portion and handle portion, saidsheath comprising a main body having a pocket at the lower portion forreceiving the blade of said knife, a belt-loop attachment secured to therear side of said body below the opening of said pocket but with thefree end of said attachment extending above the opening of said pocket,a knife handle restraining means comprising a substantially fiatrectangular soft oil-tanned leather portion having two side and two endintegral tabs, each tax extending outwardly from said rectangularportion, means securing one end tab to the upper portion of the mainbody whereby the remaining portions of the restraining means may befolded down over the secured tab, means to then secure the two side tabsto the upper portion of the main body so that the remaining end tabdepends downwardly to snap over the handle of the knife.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,528,501 11/1950 Davis 224-24 2,687,833 8/ 1954 Sutton 2242.4 3,044,673 7/1962Manning 2242.4

HUGO O. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, J. E. OLDS, Assistant Examiners.

